AT a time when print media budgets continue to be squeezed and detailed coverage of foreign affairs is at a premium, you deserves great credit for your use of David Pratt's contributions from the Middle East.
Repeatedly – and presumably at significant risk to himself – he travels to the heart of the story in war-ravaged localities in and around the Syrian fronts. His report from Kobane ("It's time to honour the courage and sacrifice of the Rojava Revolution", The Herald, May 18) was typically compelling, poignant and revealing but – perhaps most significantly – it also expressed a degree of optimism, rare in the wider coverage of the combat zone.
His account of the Kobane's Women's Congress and its stand against what he calls "the reactionary, hierarchical, misogynist, violent and vehemently anti-democratic diktats espoused by the jihadists of IS" was heartening, in the context of an otherwise terribly bleak landscape.
For the avoidance of doubt, I have never met Mr Pratt but, should I ever make his acquaintance, I will be glad to shake his hand in recognition of a very fine professional and one of the best reasons to buy and read The Herald.
Roderick Forsyth,
35 Saltoun Street,
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel